


The Hiatusverse

by Doc_Cairo



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Code Lyoko, Code MENT, Doctor Who, Gravity Falls, Homestuck, RWBY, Red vs Blue, Soul Eater, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Fluff, Gen, Multi, Out of Canon, rollercoaster of feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-06-09 01:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6883258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doc_Cairo/pseuds/Doc_Cairo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When our favorite shows are away for the season or on an extended break between episodes, they wind up in the Hiatusverse: a nexus dimension where they are aware of their own fictional nature, but out of danger and get to kick back and have adventures with characters from other shows.  There will be shenanigans.  There will be feelings jams.  There will be confusion when we have three different characters named Rose!</p><p>Newest Chapter - Tea in Death City<br/>Connie talks out some concerns with a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Hiatusverse

"What."

Peridot floated in space, alongside Steven, the crystal gems, and Connie, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. All in the middle of a warp stream... although she couldn't remember them getting on a pad.

"Oh no..." Pearl muttered.  
"Awwww, DAMN IT!" Amethyst threw... whatever she was eating, Peridot wasn't even sure... out of the warp stream. "HIATUS AGAIN?!"  
"Man... we weren't in for long at all that time..." Steven said. "Hi Connie!"

"Excuse me..." Peridot interrupted, floating between all of them. "I'm not sure if I was using inappropriate audio levels but... WHAT?!"

"Oh... yeah, your first time." Pearl realized.  
"She's gonna freak out." Garnet said, matter of factly, from her position further ahead in the stream.  
"She's rational, she'll understand."  
"No, she's gonna freak out."  
"ABOUT WHAT?!" Peridot demanded. "One minute we're sitting in the barn working on the drill, and suddendly this. How did we get here?"  
"It's called a hiatus. And it always has terrible timing." Amethyst had shifted into a lounging position in mid air.  
"So... were between episodes... so..." Steven strained to explain.  
"Episodes?" Peridot's brow wrinkled.  
"Want me to try explaining it Steven?" Connie asked.  
"Yeah, you're good at explaining it." Steven told her.  
"How would you know, I've never explained it to anyone before?"  
"But you're good at explaining things. Like... in general."  
"All I do is couch it in fiction metaphors... what was that show she like's again?"  
"Camp Pining Hearts." Steven replied. Connie raised an eyebrow.  
"Unexpected... but ok."

"We are fiction. We are characters. Like Percy or Pierre, or the other campers. And everything that happens, our lives... is a show." Connie said. "If you can get through the existential crisis that brings..." Connie grimaced, remembering just how rough a time she'd had coming to grasp with that. "... it begs the question about what happens when no ones watching. Between the episodes." Peridot looked dumbstruck. "One would assume that we would just go through our lives and have unseen events take place outside the context of what is explicitly presented but it turns out..."  
"Turns out, when the show isn't running, we're pulled into this purgatory dimension... Hiatus." Pearl spoke up. "When we're in our world, we forget all about this place and anything that happens here, as well as our nature as characters. But each time we come back to this dimension, all the memories made here are restored, at least until the next time we go back home."  
"It's kinda like a vacation." Steven smiled. "Time off spent here in this other world." Connie noticed Peridots continuing odd facial expressions.  
"Are you following this ok?" Connie asked. Peridot shook her head as she spoke.  
"Somehow... stupid clods just doesn't quite say it." She said quietly. 'Are you all INSANE?! How is any of that possible?! And if it is, how are you so damn calm about it?!"  
"Told you." Garnet said.  
"Future vision is cheating Garnet." Pearl teased.  
"Well, we've all been through this before." Connie told her. "Previous hiatuses. We've had plenty of time to process and accept it... we were just as upset and unbelieving as you our first times."  
"Ok human, than answer me this." Peridot crossed her arms. "If our universe is fiction... and you've experience this hiatus before... why haven't I? Or Jasper? Or anyone else?!"  
"Well... because your good now." Steven told her. "Bad guys don't show up here in Hiatus."  
"Why not?" Peridot questioned. "That rule seems arbitrary, illogical, and has massive grey areas... who gets to decide who's good and who's bad anyway?"  
"I do." The voice of an older man made Peridot leap, floating and hiding behind Amethyst.

"Sup Doc!" Amethyst shouted at the figure that had joined them in the warp stream. The man was old... thick grey hair, black pants and a hoodie over a tan shirt. Thick sunglasses. And floating behind the man, a large blue box. The sign atop it read 'Police Box'.  
"Doctor." The man said. "How many times are we gonna have this conversation?"  
"You know she only calls you that because she knows it annoys you." Pearl told him.  
"Who are you?" Peridot peaked out from behind Amethyst at the stranger.  
"He's called, the Doctor." Garnet floated back closer to them.  
"I run the place." The Doctor said. "Been in and out of this place for fifty some years... including an extended stay lasting a few decades." He held his hand up and snapped his fingers, causing the twin doors of his floating box to swing open. "All aboard. Quickly now... I've got to go pick up the Pines in a few hours."  
"Oh hey, they got more episodes." Connie said and smiled, as did Steven. Garnet, Pearl, Steven and Connie floated back in the stream through the doors. Amethyst followed, but Peridot was stopped at the door by the Doctor.  
"Just a quick word of caution." He said sternly. "I'm a good judge of character, but I've been wrong before. I believe you have turned over a new leaf. But if you prove me wrong... I will kick you out of my dimension." He threatened.  
"What... what even are you?" Peridot questioned. The man had a sort of confidence and aura she hadn't seen in any human before... little as she had interacted with them. It felt like being glared at by one of the Diamonds.  
"I'm the Doctor." And he pushed her through the doors.

The weightlessness of the warp stream gave way to gravity as soon as she crossed the threshold of the door. Aritifical gravity, she recognized the feeling from her old ship. She found herself in a control room... a large circular room, far larger than the exterior of the box she had seen as she entered. A control console connecting floor to ceiling by as central pillar. Walkways along the outside of the circle, with bookshelves, blackboards, all sorts of other human looking furnishings along them. Garnet and Amethyst lounged in chairs on the central control platform. Pearl was staring with admiration at the ships elaborate controls. Steven and Connie had rushed to one side of the room featuring numerous bookshelves and had sat down in chairs there, and were examining the shelves.  
"Wait... is this a hologem room?" Peridot reached for the only explanation within logical reach.  
"Nope. Bigger on the inside." Garnet told her. "It's cool."  
"Yes, yes it is." The Doctor said proudly as he strode past Peridot towards the controls.  
"Well Peri, get ready to meet some new people." Amethyst said, grinning.  
"Pardon?"  
"The hiatus dimension is a multi-dimensional nexus. There plenty of others who's shows are on hiatus too." Pearl told her. "It at least makes these little vacations... interesting."


	2. Hiatus Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor drops the gems off and Peridot is introduced to a friend of Pearl's.

After a few moments of screeching from the ships engines that made Peridot cover her audio sensors, the Doctor stepped back towards the entrance door and flung it open. The view outside indicated they were no longer in the warp stream. Peridot poked her head out as the others filed out of the box. Their new location was a massive room; carpeted in navy, with large windows on two sides. There were chairs and tables all around, spiral stairs leading up five or six stories, hallways branching off in various directions, and a desk seperating a smaller room set into the wall.

"I still don't understand why the hub is a hotel." Connie questioned, glancing at the doctor expectantly.  
"Why not?" the Doctor shrugged. "It's a home away from home after all. Plus it was a steal. In that I stole it. A whole hotel."  
"What's a hotel?" Peridot asked Steven.  
"Uh... well, when people travel, they need a place to live and sleep while they aren't at home." Steven explained. "So they share big places like this."  
"Like a camp?"  
"Like a camp." Steven nodded. "But mostly inside."  
"Check in with Mr. Smith." The Doctor told Pearl. "Your rooms are just as you left them... you were only gone a week." He stepped back to his box.  
"Any word when we're going back?" Amethyst asked.  
"Nope." The door slammed closed. That same sound went off as the box turned transparent, and then gradually faded from existence.  
"I'll get the keys." Garnet stepped away towards the service desk. Peridot stared at the floor.  
"You doing ok?" Amethyst elbowed her.  
"Um... just... processing all this."  
"It was kinda hard to get over." Connie took her hand. "If you need to talk about it, we're all here."  
"Um... thanks... I guess." Peridot pulled her hand away. "Um... where'd Steven go?" Peridot glanced around, not seeing him.  
"Oh, he probably went looking to see who's here." Amethyst said as she flopped down on a couch with a good view out the window. "Yep... there he is." She pointed outside. Peridot looked out and saw outside: there was a large in-ground pool with a tiled area around it, and past it a large grassy field with forests to the right and an ocean to the left. Steven was interacting with some other humans she'd never seen before. And a handful of definitely not humans.

Some of them looked like normal humans... save one who had white animal ears sticking out of her black hair, who lay asleep near the pool. Several were grey skinned with orange and yellow horns of different shapes. Steven was chatting animatedly with a blonde human wearing sunglasses and one of the grey skinned ones. Further back, she could see several figures wearing colorful armor standing around near the treeline, and a human with black hair standing near the ocean, making hand motions that caused the water to move.

"So... what do we do here?" Peridot asked Amethyst.  
"Chill." Amethyst told her. "There's lot of stuff to watch... and people to meet. Oh, and some cool places to visit... like... uh..." Amethyst frowned. "There are places, I just can't think of ones you'd like."  
"There's the factory. She'd probably get a kick out of that supercomputer." Connie suggested.  
"Maybe... maybe you just wanna hang with those nerds some more." Amethyst teased. Connie shot back with something defensive in tone, but Peridot couldn't help but tune it out as she saw Pearl sitting across the room at a table with a human male, talking while the man sipped on a cup of coffee. The middle aged, slightly balding man was wearing shorts and a hawian shirt... which drew attention to his missing left hand. She left Amethyst and Connie talking and walked over.

"Oh, thank god you got her back." Pearl said with relief, the man having just finished a long explanation of something.  
"I'm not proud of how it turned out, but there's no changing it now." The man said. "How'd your most recent outing go?"  
"Well... we've got something big to deal with now." Pearl told him vaguely. "Like, Earth destruction big."  
"Welcome to the big leagues." The man joked. He glanced at Peridot, who had now come right up to their table. "Friend of yours?"  
"What happened to your arm?" Peridot asked bluntly.  
"Peridot! That's rude!" Pearl stopped her. "Sorry Phil... this is her first time here... she just changed sides and she's not... sociable."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Peridot said defensively. "I was just asking a question!"  
"It got cut off. It was that or dying." The man said non-chalantly. He held out his other hand to her. "Phil Coulson." Peridot hesitantly held out her comparatively tiny hand and shook his.  
"I'm Peridot." She said nervously.  
"I thought you had that replacement made." Pearl said to him.  
"I lost it. Can't get a new one until we go back... or at least, if I get a new one here I can't take it with me." He said. "So what's your story?" He asked Peridot.

"Uh... well... I was sent to Earth under orders to check up on a giant bio weapon growing under at its core... but I sorta got stuck there and met these clods and now I'm trying to help stop it."  
"Got a plan?" Coulson looked at Pearl.  
"We're building a drill." Pearl told him. Coulson looked skeptical. Peridot felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump, but she calmed immediately after realizing it was Garnet's.  
"Got the keys." She set a key ring down on the table next to Pearl. "Phil." She adjusted her visor.  
"Ma'am." He nodded. Garnet started walking away from the table, hand still on Peridot's shoulder, leading her away.  
"What's the deal with them?" Peridot asked once they were out of ear shot.  
"They... have some similar issues. They like to talk about it." Garnet explained. "There's a lot of really interesting people in this world Peridot. I think you'll enjoy it here."  
"How can I? Every minute we're here we're not working on the drill." Peridot argued. "What if the cluster emerges while we're gone?"  
"It won't. When we go back, it'll be to the same time we left." Garnet reassured. "Let's go find Steven... I'm sure he'll want to introduce you to some people." She let go of her shoulder and headed for a door to the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see who all we met this time...
> 
> \- Steven chatting up Dave and Karkat, Jade's asleep by the pool  
> \- Hm... who wears colorful armor and spends most of their time standing around and talking?  
> \- That's not Lapis by the sea...  
> \- Who exactly are 'those nerds'?  
> \- Before it was just about the hero worship and the stress of team dynamics, but Phil just lost someone too... they've probably got even more to talk about now...
> 
> Threads to be expanded upon in the future... which are you most interested in seeing first?


	3. Stable Loops and Bad Futures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven talks time travel with Dave and Karkat - Garnet intervenes to prevent a tragic turn of events

"You've been here how long?!" Steven spoke in a disbelieving tone.  
"NINE MONTHS." The grey skinned, black haired teen with candy corn horns answered him, arms crossed.  
"Ten next week man." The blonde human with dark shades lying under the umbrella next to him added.  
"Man... I hope we aren't here that long." Steven said.  
"Nah... you get back in four." Another voice came from behind Steven. An identical copy of the blonde teen walked up behind him.  
"Whoa... Dave... how..." Steven looked back and forth between the two.  
"Oh great. What?" The Dave who was lying down asked his other self.  
"Well, in about 30 seconds, you go forward in time to find out how long his hiatus lasts for him." The other answered. "It's four months by the way Steve-o."  
"WAIT." The grey one interrupted. "WHY DIDN'T YOU FIND OUT ABOUT OUR HIATUS IF YOU COULD DO THAT?!"  
"And now you're gonna do that too." The standing Dave told the lying one.  
"Yep... guess so." The lying down one held his hand up in the air, and a red gear materialized next to his hand. Attached to this gear, a black vinyl record. "Back one minute ago." He said, before sticking his finger to the record and spinning it. He and the hovering device dissapeared. The remaining Dave immediately sat down and took his place.  
"And the answer is, three more months." Dave said.  
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE WITH FRIVOLUS TIME TRAVEL."  
"Calm down Karkat..." Dave told him. "Time's much more malleable here. There's less chance of screwing up the loops, and the Doc's on hand if someone fumbles."  
"HE STILL TOLD YOU NOT TO DO IT."  
"And that's why this never happened." Dave made a dismissive hand gesture. "Right Steven?"  
"Got it." Steven said after a moment's hesitation, and gave him a thumbs up. "But man... I wish I could figure that stuff out. The one time I got to play with time travel, I really botched it up."  
"Well, you did the right thing by going back and destroying it. Cutting it off at the root spun that whole deal into a dead timeline."  
"Well, yeah..." Steven sat down next to Karkat. "But... if I had thought it out more and not messed things up... maybe I could have kept using it. For something important." Steven looked pensive.  
"OK." Karkat stood up. "IF YOU START CRYING ON US AGAIN, I'M GONNA GO GET ROSE."  
"Wha..." Steven looked up, surprised.  
"KK, ixnay on the osray." Dave cut him off.  
"LOOK, I'M JUST SAYING, IF HE NEEDS A GOD DAMN THERAPY SESSION, WE SHOULD REALLY GET ROSE OVER HERE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THING TWICE." He pulled a phone from his pocket.  
"Karkat." Dave stood up.  
"CALL ROSE." Karkat spoke into the phone.  
"Karkat, what was his mom's name?" Dave grabbed his wrist. Karkat had a look of realization.  
"OH. OHHHHH..." He grimaced. "Sorry... Steven..."  
“It's ok... it's just a name.” Steven reassured them. Karkat put the phone away. “Oh, I gotta introduce you to Peridot!”  
“WHAT.”  
“She just joined our side, so it's her first time here!” Steven said enthusiastically. “You two might actually really get along... you both do that thing where you use complicated alien words for simple thing.”  
“Oh, that's just what I need. Two of him.” Dave laughed as he sat back down.  
“I'll go get her!” Steven walked off.

* * *

 

Garnet watched as Peridot was pulled away by Steven to talk to the human and alien boy. Her future vision, as usual, ran the gauntlet of various possibilities for what could happen next. She could go back to the room... nothing interesting would happen. She could follow them over and talk to the two... where she'd learn those two were finally a proper couple. Good for them. She smiled. She could go to the beach or... oh, now that could be unfortunate. She should intervene there before things go south. She instead walked towards the treeline, towards the colorful armored figures milling about there.

* * *

 

“OH MY GOD!” A joyful, childish exclamation came from the blue armor. “It's the afro lady! Hi afro lady!” He waved enthusiastically.  
“Caboose.” Garnet nodded at him. “How are you feeling?”  
“Oh... still not good... Church isn't back yet.” He said sadly. Garnet glanced at the greenish solider sitting behind him, uncharacteristically silent.  
“Tucker.”  
“Sup.” He said. “Who you here looking for?”  
“No one in particular. Wanted to see how Caboose is doing.” Garnet answered.  
“Why do you care?”  
“He's still grieving.”  
“He's too dumb for that.”  
“Yeah...” Caboose said. “Wait... who were we talking about?”  
“Caboose, why don't you go say hi to Steven? We brought a new friend this time. She's green. And tiny.”  
“That sounds adorable.” Caboose said. “Freckles, you want to go meet a new friend?” He talked to his rifle.  
“Affirmative.” A mechanical voice spoke from it.  
“OK, back in a little bit Tucker!” He ran back towards the hotel pool.

“You're not even trying to help him, are you?” Garnet kept her arms crossed as she spoke to the lazing green figure.  
“Look, it's not like I haven't tried.” He argued. “He just can't get it thorough his thick head that Church is gone.”  
“Not entirely.”  
“No, but these guys aren't Church. And they aren't much help outside of actual combat.” Tucker gestured in the air, where several colorful holograms appeared. “I mean... Church splitting up like this kept us alive, but his memory and personality are gone. He just can't understand that. You know what I mean, right? Remember how I was telling you it took SIX re-entries here until he understood what was happening?” Garnet stayed silent. “Besides, we work him through it here, we just have to do it again when we get back. Or heck, maybe next run we get, Church comes back somehow. He's died and come back three times now. You know that's how this works. Why did you come over here anyway... just being nosy?” He seemed annoyed.  
“I detected one possible future where the two of you had a big fight... and Caboose wound up hurting someone. Badly.”  
“You... you're kidding right?” Garnet said nothing. “Is this that comedy based on fear thing? Because fuck that, not a good joke.”  
“Just be careful with him. He's emotionally fragile.”  
“AND YOU ACT LIKE I'M NOT?!” Tucker stood up angrily. “MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD. And that moron keeps talking every day like he's just gone to the fucking store!” Garnet sensed rage. “YOU THINK THAT'S EASY FOR ME?!” Future vision ran wild. Which one... which one... what was he about to...

Garnet had summoned her gauntlets before he could even reach his sword. She wasn't taking the chance. Her left gauntlet flew from her wrist, striking him in the hip before he could reach the energy sword... knocking it off and sending it flying out of reach.  
“AH, YOU BITCH!”  
“Tucker, calm down!” Tucker ran at her and swung his armored fist, which Garnet caught in her other gauntlet, then twisting it to her right, flinging him to the ground. “This isn't you. It's Omega.”  
“JUST MIND YOUR OWN BUSSINESS!” He yelled, but Garnet held him down and with no weapon, he wasn't getting back up.  
“You need to nap.” Garnet gritted her teeth as she wound back her other fist, and with a swift punch to the helmet, Tucker went silent. Garnet breathed a sigh of relief. It's not that she hadn't seen this coming.

There were several futures she had seen in that instant. Scenario A: Tucker and Caboose got into an argument, setting off what several people had described as an 'emotional time bomb', and Caboose would wind up hurting himself or someone else... and he would definitely get hurt in the process of stopping him. Scenario B: Her intervention sent Caboose away, and let her confront Tucker about his own problem... which would lead to either C, a peaceful resolution, or D, an outburst like this. She'd didn't blame Tucker for this though. She had been forewarned not by her future vision, but by one of Tucker's other comrades, about his condition.

His teammate, an AI named Epsilon but commonly known as Church, had recently died. In as much as an AI can die. In order to save them all from certain death, Church had split himself up into his component AI in order to power Tucker's prototype Meta armor. Now he wasn't just Tucker... he shared his head space with those AI fragments, some of which were having a bad influence on him... like Omega... the incarnation of anger and rage. Such a being would not have been permitted here by the doctor under normal circumstances... but Tucker had become permanently bound to these AI... there was no way to remove Omega from him. So it was necessary that people kept an eye on him to make sure the malevolent AI didn't push him into taking regrettable action, and stop him if necessary. Garnet wasn't the only one the Doctor had recruited for this task... but her future vision meant she was certainly good at it. This wasn't the first time she'd had to shut him down.

“Wow, she really is green!” Caboose ran back to them. “Tucker, you got to see this, she's your colo- Tucker?”  
“It's ok Caboose, he's just taking a nap.”  
“Ohhh. Ok.” Caboose shrugged.  
“Y'know, she's very good with robots.” Garnet told him. “Maybe she can make a new body for Freckles while you're here.” Caboose had the expected reaction... a thrilled noise somewhere between a yell and a squee, as he darted back to talk to Peridot again. Garnet pulled a phone out of the storage in her gem. “Washington. It's Garnet. Tucker's had another relapse. I've got him contained, but we need to secure him.”  
“Oh not again... thanks for handling it Garnet. When did you get back? Where are you?”  
“Just now, at the hotel hub. How long until you're here?”  
“ETA 5 minutes. I'll call Carolina and have her meet us there.”  
“See you then.”

Garnet looked down with pity at the unconscious solider. Becoming permanently bonded with the AI was unexpected... he hadn't consented to it. Several minds not his own sharing his body... almost like a forced fusion. She sincerely hoped the process could be reversed someday, but it wouldn't happen here. Not until their hiatus was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we're starting from where Peridot entered the picture, the rest of the characters already had some previous interactions and history with each other from previous hiatuses. Steven's made lot of friends... Garnet's trying to keep things peaceful and safe.
> 
> Oh, and sorry about the sudden drama bomb. I knew I wanted Garnet to interact with some of the RvB cast, but I wasn't sure which way the scene was going until I was writing, and it just came out organically. Just know, not everything is peaceful and happy in the hiatusverse.
> 
> Next Time - Amethyst looks for some of her acquaintances... we get a bit more of how the hiatus universe works... and Connie consults with some friends about Steven...


	4. Tea in Death City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie talks out some of her concerns with a friend.

Amethyst flopped onto the hotel room bed and let out a satisfied groan. It's not like she didn't have a bed in her room at home... actually she had like, eight, but they were all second-hand and pretty broken down. Even sneaking a nap in Steven's bed when he wasn't around, didn't compare to these beds.

“Ayyy, Mr. Smith!” She shouted at the empty room. The large flat-screen monitor on the wall opposite the bed turned on, playing a brief musical fanfare. The screen displayed a colorful, shifting matrix of colors that resembled a screen saver.

“Hello, Amethyst. How may I be of assistance?” The voice sounded like a natural human, but with a flat robotic tone. Mr. Smith was an AI wired into the building; it had apparently belonged to someone the Doctor knew, and had been integrated into the hotel as a concierge, handling all sorts of little things he couldn't be bothered with. Basically an on call butler to anyone staying here. You bet she loved that.

“Can I get some of that good Lasagna? Ooh, and I need to check on some people.”

“Your meal is being prepared now. Who did you wish to inquire about?” Mr. Smith said, unphased.

“Who all is in right now? How bout my girl Yang?”

“Miss Xiao Long's universe is currently in session. Estimated arrival window, 1-2 months.”

“Damn... there goes like half the fun people.” Amethyst rolled her eyes. Those kids really knew how to party. Let's see... those Shield guys had to be here, since Pearl was already chatting it up with Phil. Some of them were pretty fun. Ugh... but last time there had been some drama. Someone had died or something. She didn't want to deal with that. She really didn't know that many others who's universes were 'active'. Of course, she had plenty of friends who were always here. “Hey, shoot a message to Black-Star, see if he's up to shoot some hoops or something.”

'Very well.”

* * *

 

Connie walked quietly, and alone, into the massive 'art gallery' located off the first floor foyer. Steven was so excited to introduce Peridot to people, she didn't think he'd even noticed her slip away. Probably for the best in this case. She needed some one-on-one talking time with her friend.

In her world, Connie didn't have a lot of friends besides Steven. She mostly kept to herself at school and didn't fit in with any cliques. Even with her newly boosted confidence, the school social race wasn't worth the effort to her. But in this world, not only were there much more interesting people, they were much more open and less judgmental. She'd been thrilled to make some female friends of her own for once. And she was on her way to visit one.

The art gallery looked like you'd expect, although it was all paintings, no sculpture or other modern installations. And they weren't exactly paintings. For one, they changed appearance depending on the angle you looked, sort of like those lenticular pictures, except with photo like clarity. They were also affixed to the wall by some cosmic, immovable force. But most importantly, each painting was a pocket dimension. This was a gallery of whole worlds. When a world, well, ended... when the work of fiction was finished... these places would have ceased to be... along with everyone and everything in them. But with some fearsome technology or magic he refused to explain, the Doctor had saved them. And the inhabitants of those worlds were then free to travel between the hotel and any of the other paintings here in the gallery. And there were hundreds. Connie had initially wanted to explore them all but hadn't even made a dent yet. Further inside she could hear the sound of footsteps as people she didn't know took the steps between. She passed a boy in an all red outfit, with brown hair and two swords crossing his back. He didn't know her either, but gave her a polite hello as he passed. She passed a young college age man in a black school uniform, who seemed to be torn between two of the paintings, glancing back and forth between them and scratching his head. She came to a stop at her destination. With only a quick glance to verify it was the right one, she leaned towards it, fighting instinct to allow herself to lose balance and fall forward. And she visualized where specifically she wanted to be.

She felt the falling sensation... and then felt herself standing normally, on a cobblestone street in a brightly lit city. The sun overhead... had a face. And it was laughing. Only a very faint sound, you couldn't only really hear it outside, and if you were specifically listening for it. The city around here looked fairly normal, even if it's architecture had a bit more of a gothic bent to it then most. The building that stood out was the massive one on a raised plateau in the center of town; it's facade carved in the shape of a giant skull with spikes and massive roaring flames atop pillars.

Death City, Utah. Which was apparently a state in this universe, but geographically speaking, was still part of Mexico in her native universe. Semantics.

Connie entered the building to her immediate right. She'd landed right where she meant to, right outside her apartment. She climbed two flights of stairs and knocked on a door. The nameplate next to the door had three names: two which were engraved into the plaque, and the last was scribbled on with sharpie below them.

Maka Albarn

Soul Eater

_and Blair!_

* * *

“Alright Tucker, how do you feel?” The black armored solider asked.

“I just got my ass kicked by two lesbians in a trench coat, how do you think I feel?” He replied sarcastically. He'd been back to his own self after regaining consciousness.

“Well, to be fair, you picked a fight with two lesbians in a trench coat.” A female solider in greenish armor of similar color, but different design, pointed out. “So I'd say, pretty embarrassed?”

“You shouldn't be calling her that.” Agent Washington said seriously.

“I actually think it's kind of funny.” Garnet said.

“Well, ok then.” Washington shrugged. “Carolina, what do you think? It's happening more and more, we need a solution. Even if it's just temporary.”

“We could take him to Hopper and Belpois.” Carolina suggested.

“Oh, fuck no.” Tucker protested. “You are not letting those kids poke around in my head. There is stuff in here no one should see, no matter what age.”

“But they have experience dealing with this kind of AI. They might be able to come up with something to reduce Omega's influence.” Washington supported the suggestion.

“And Sigma.” Carolina added grimly. “Has he been talking to you much?”

“You mean the one that sounds like a hobbit? Nah, he's pretty quiet. Keeps to himself.” Tucker explained. “Think they can shut the blue one up too? It keeps trying to tell me shitty knock knock jokes. The same ones.” He paused. “Over and over.” He glanced down crestfallen. “OK, I'll try anything. But I will not be held responsible for anything they see.”

“What do you think Garnet?” Washington asked her.

“It's up in the air... somewhere around a 40-60 chance. But it can't hurt to try it.” Garnet hadn't done any actual math on those numbers, but it seemed a good approximation based on the potentials she saw. “I'm going back to Steven.”

“OK, we'll let you know how it goes.” Carolina told her. “Thanks.” Garnet gave a thumbs up as she walked away.

* * *

“Wow, you weren't gone long at all that time.” The girl with long blonde pigtails set a saucer and tea cup in front of Connie, who sat in a plush red chair in the cozy living room.

“Yeah, it seems more sporadic than before. I don't understand why.” Connie told her. The girl sat down on a couch next to the chair and leaned back. She was wearing one of her casual outfits, not the black, cape like long coat she was known for, which had been Connie's first impression.

“Did you get any more training in?”

“No, unfortunately.” Connie said disappointed. “Not even a proper fight since the hospital.”

“Well, you can always practice here. They say knowledge doesn't transfer, but I get the sense that muscle memory sticks around.” She offered.

“Maka!” A female voice interrupted them, as a black cat walked into the room. It wore a black witches hat with a curly top, and spoke with a human voice. “You know that's not what she want's to talk about!” Unbidden, the cat jumped into Connie's lap, staring her straight in the face. “So... how are things with Steven?”

“Blair! I was gonna get to that! Haven'tyoueverheardoftact-” Maka yelled at the cat, her speech speeding up exponentially as she got flustered until it all ran together.

“No Maka, it's ok...” Connie assured as she reached to scratch behind Blair's ear, as the cat wore a big grin. “That kinda is what I wanna talk about.”

“This last run... we got a bit closer.” Connie said hesitantly. I mean, I only got to spend a weekend with him, but I found out that he's actually a bit older than me... and he tried to change for my sake and wound up hurting himself in the process. He's ok but... I dunno...” She struggled for the words. “It's like... when I'm there, when the show's on, I know I love him... and it's not as if he's any different here... but...”

“Is it you or the writers?” Maka said. Connie nodded. When in their world, she had no doubts about her feelings. But whenever she was here, she couldn't help but dwell on the fact that she only felt that way because it was how she was written. She didn't have agency. Fate, destiny, all those concepts from her books... they were in fact real things, guided by some unseen hand that wrote scripts. All her decisions, all her thoughts, were someone else's. And it just felt... wrong.

“You ever feel that way?” Connie asked her.

“Look, I get it. I had similar thoughts when I first got here too.” Maka told her. “The writers were pretty clearly trying to push Soul and I together. From the start. But by the time my story was over, I just didn't care. Once we got here, there were no writer's holding us together, but we wanted to be with each other. And that's all there was to it. And when your story ends, you'll get to make a decision like that for yourself. There's no point in dwelling on something you can't control.”

“And besides...” The cat paused to purr as Connie ran a hand down her back. “If the writers wanted you together from the start... that means you two were LITERALLY made for each other. Isn't that romantic?” She stared at Connie expectantly. Connie wasn't sure how to answer. The free will question still nagged at her.

“Alright... well answer me this.” Maka said. “Let's say that, in your story... you liked Steven, but he didn't really feel anything for you. And the way you were written stopped you from ever doing or saying anything about it. When your story ends, and there's no writer holding you back... would you confess to him?” Connie stopped to give it a thought.

“Yes.”

“Right, that's what I thought. Because that would be an expression of free will. You'd be acting against what had been controlling you. And you'd feel like that's a good thing.” Maka said. “But rebelling for rebelling's sake isn't inherently good. Now, the way things are, your story ends with you two together and happy... would you really ruin that just for the principle of giving the writer's the middle finger?” No. Connie didn't even have to think on it like she did for the last question. “Compared to some people I've met... your writer's seem to have your best interest at heart. You'll go through rough patches, but I'm sure you'll get a happy ending. Most of us do in the end.”

“And be glad you're not like Yumi.” Blair muttered. “Pulled into a bullshit love triangle for cheap fucking drama and getting jerked around every which way... gah, I could claw somebody's face off over that...” Blair jumped down from Connie's lap and wandered out of the room.

“Blair's right, you're lucky you don't have any love triangle drama. It's such bullshit.”

“You speaking from experience?” Connie asked her. Maka hadn't brought that up before.

“Well, it was for like, one episode, but it still pissed me off.” She frowned. “So it started when Soul and I were hunting this serial killer called Jack the Ripper...”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome Soul Eater to fold, as we explore how concluded stories work in the Hiatusverse. There were also teases for our next upcoming cast members, and some cameos you can have fun at guessing.
> 
> I feel like out of the whole cast, Connie would be the one who would overthink the whole 'my life is just fiction' thing and dwell on it. Good thing she's got a fellow bookworm friend to mull it over with.


	5. Save the Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As their story comes to a close, the Doctor makes a plan to preserve the entire town of Gravity Falls within the Hiatusverse. Wash and Carolina seek help from an AI expert to help Tucker. And an unknown force appears...

_Some time ago..._

“Alright folks. Moment of truth time. End of the world, everyone out of the Tardis.” The Doctor told the characters assembled in his ship. Among them, a rotund man wearing a green shirt with a question mark on it, a redhead in flannel, and two pairs of twins, both known as the Pines.

“Let's do this doods!” Soos was the first one out the door, charging with both arms above his head. He'd been psyching himself up although as soon as the Tardis left and the world resumed, he'd forget he'd done all that. Wendy followed him, leaving the pines family behind with the Doctor.

“Alright you two.” The Doctor stooped down next to Dipper and Mable. “I could give you all kinds of advice or ideas or a plan, but you won't remember it.”

“We'll find a way to beat Bill. We have to.” Dipper nodded.

“Memories from here... specifics... the specifics don't carry over, but if you concentrate, a feeling can.” The Doctor put a hand on each of their shoulders. “So feel this... it's ok to be scared. Scared is your greatest weapon. Scared is a superpower. With scared you can run faster... you can fight harder... you can do things you could never thought you could. And He's not scared of you. That's your advantage.”

Mabel leaned in and wrapped her arms around the doctors torso. “No, no, not the hugs I don't do the hug-” Dipper joined in for a moment, silencing him. “Fine. You kids stay alive, alright?” He ruffled their hair as they broke away, following Ford out the door of the tardis. Leaving the Doctor and Stan alone. “Oh, they're good kids... remind me of mine... that was so long ago...”

“Be honest with me Doc.” Stan leaned on the the center console, ignoring the Doctors comment, and the slight quiver in his voice. “What's the over-under on us all walking away from this?”

“You're about to fight an extra dimensional being with phenomenal cosmic power.” The Doctor said. “So... I've been in that boat. And usually... there are casualties.”

“Look, I'm a parental figure in a Disney production, I know my odds.” Stan told him. “If someone has to go... I'd rather it be me.”

“That's not really in our hands, now is it?” The Doctor told him. “That's up to the writers...”

“Screw the writers!” Stan raised his voice. “Wait, it's just us, I can swear for real... FUCK THE WRITERS!” He pounded on the railing of the main platform. “I'm keeping them safe. And if me and Ford don't make it out of this...” Stan shot the Doctor a glance over his shoulder. The Doctor nodded solemnly. Stan walked to the door.

“Stanley.” The Doctor called to him, and Stan looked back at him one more time. The Doctor grinned. “Love the fez.”

* * *

“Look at me. Turn around and look at me you one eyed demon!” Stan shouted. “You're a real wise guy but you made one fatal mistake... you messed with my family.”

“You're making a mistake! I'll give you anything... money! Fame! Riches! Infinite power! Your own galaxy! Please, no! What's happening to me!? NRUTERYAMITAHTREWOPTNEICNAEHTEKOVNIINRUBOTEMOCSAHEMITYMLTOLOXA

STANNLLLLEEEEYYY!!!!”

Stan Pines drew back his fist, shattering the dream demon with a single punch as the room around them was consumed by blue flames.

* * *

 

“You made it.” The Doctor smiled. The whole Pines family, plus Soos and Wendy, was back on board the Tardis.  
“It was pretty touch and go there for a while. We though we lost him.” Ford said as he and his brother stood arm in arm.

“You're not getting rid of me that easy.” Stan smiled.

“I just can't believe it's finally over.” Dipper said. “We all survived.”

“Once in a great while Dipper... everybody lives. And those are the days I live for.”

“Doctor, what about everyone else? Pacifica? Gideon?”

“Oh, they did change their stripes, didn't they?” The Doctor said knowingly. “And so many others in that lovely little town.” The Doctor flipped a lever on the console, setting the panels on the roof of the room spinning quickly. “Don't worry... the whole town is coming with us this time.” A monitor descended from the ceiling panel, which turned on to display a dozen video feeds tiled across the screen. “Recovery team, do you copy? This is the Doctor.”

“This is the factory team, Skid units 1-5 standing by.” Said a male voice, coming from a teenager who appeared to be sitting in a room of green metal.

“Melinda Maye, Shield Zephyr One, standing by.” An female voice played from a square labeled audio only.

“Daisy Johnson, Shield Q-01, standing by.” Another female rang in.

“Leo Fitz, Shield Q-02, uh, ready.” A male voice said.

“UNSC 479er, bringing it in.”

“Yeah yeah, look at me, my ship has a cool fucking name, and I'm standing by or whatever.” A sarcastic voice came from a figure in a black and blue helmet. “Doc, you're hooking me up after this right?”

“If you don't screw this up for us, yes.” The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“Alright then... Kallen...” The helmeted figure spoke to someone off camera, “Your job, it to keep Suzaku locked in the kitchen this whole time. You let him eat the forks if that's what it takes to keep him distracted, just, nowhere near the controls. Got it?”

“That's everyone then.” The Doctor ran around the circular console, manipulating many different controls and assigning simple tasks to the Pines family to account for not being everywhere at once. “Being operation... Save the Falls.”

* * *

“Hello Jeremy.” Agent Washington stepped out of an elevator along with Carolina and Tucker.

“Wash? What are you doing here?” The boy looked away from his computer, temporarily removing the large headphone-mic combo. He work a brown long sleeve shirt, dark green pants, and thick round glasses.

“We were hoping we could get your help with an AI related problem.” Carolina told him. “Are you busy?”

“Yeah, actually.” Jeremy put the headset back on, but left one ear uncovered to hear both the headset and those in the room. “We're in the middle of a dimensional compression operation right now, can it wait? Should only be like, half an hour or so.”

“We got nothing but time.” Wash told him. “Thanks.” He walked over to the computer, which had reclaimed all of Jeremy's attention. The screen, as well as the massive holographic sphere behind it that encompassed most of the room. He'd observed a couple of these operations in the past: he didn't totally understand how it worked: just that it was the means by which places were saved and placed in the gallery once their stories concluded. He knew it involved a coordinated effort of ten to twelve air/spacecraft, some black box technology added by the Doctor, and encircling the location to be saved. Depending on the capabilities of the craft being used, as well as the scope of what was being preserved, it could take a long time or very little. And from what he could see in the holo sphere, it looked like they were just trying to lock down a single city. City was a generous term... it was more of a small town...

“Oh hey, Gravity Falls!” Tucker commented. “Isn't that where that hot redhead is from?”

“Tucker, she's fifteen.” Carolina chided him.

“Seriously? She looks so much older.”

“So what's your AI problem?” Jeremy asked.

“Tucker's AI implant is causing some problems. Omega is gaining more control over time, and we need to find a way to stop it before he takes over.”

“And if you can please get Gamma to shut up, that'd be awesome.” Tucker added.

“We might be able to isolate the particular fragments if we run a simulation bubble. But you'd need to go in and deal with Omega yourselves. My teams gonna be locked out for the day when they get back from the mission.”

“Wait... you want us to go through the scanner thing...”

“We've done VR simulation training before Wash...” Carolina reminded him.

“Yeah, but that's VR, this is like... those things give me the willies.”

“Hey, can we fix Doc too? Y'know since he thinks he's half O'Malley now?”

“No. Doc doesn't have an AI we can separate. He's just delusional.”

“So you two are gonna convert into data, enter my mind, and fight the AI.” Tucker said. “Tex and Church did that Caboose once, and it did not end well. At all.”

“Tough.” Jeremy said. “It's that or suffer AI possession. Trust me, that's not fun.” The room descended into silence, save for Jeremy clicking away the keyboard and occasionally issuing an order through the headset mic, usually causing one of the dots on the holosphere to change course.

* * *

A X O L O T L MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN

Bill Cipher awoke a in a void. A void unlike his own dimension... although the sensation was similar. The last thing could recall was being tricked... out-smarted... and punched in the face by Stanley Pines. Was he dead? He didn't know where he was... and he knew everything.

“Well, I'm not Axolotl, but any port in a storm, ey?” A female voice spoke to him.

“Who said that?” Bill tried to look around, but found himself unable to move his body to find the source of the voice.

“You wanted someone to come save you, so here I am.” The voice said again. “You're all about deals right? Let's talk deals. I get you outta here, you help me with my plans, and as a sweet bonus, you get another crack at those brats and their uncles.”

“Who exactly are you?” Bill felt himself regaining his form, able to move and look around again. “To think you'd be in a position to help me?”

“Oh, that's my business.” The voice told him. “I tell you what, we've got a fair bit in common. We both love a good bit of chaos. And I'm getting a band together. We're already booked to play the end of the universe party... care to join?” A hand, seemingly detached from anything else, reached out to him. Bill didn't know who this was... it certainly wasn't who he'd called out to in his dying moments. He wouldn't trust it... but trusting it and playing along were two different things.

“It's... a... DEAL!” Bill's hand erupted in blue flames as it shot into the outstretched hand... and he felt himself pulled from the void.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, totally adapted some of that dialogue between the Doctor and Pines Family from existing material. Welcome to the story two new universes: Code Lyoko, and... well, the other ones a secret for now unless you're an anime fan, let's see if you can guess it. And what's this at the end? Plot?
> 
> Sorry for lack of SU in this chapter, we'll be getting back to them very soon.


End file.
